Finale Lyrics – Cabaret

Song Overview

Pressed by RCA Victor on June 30 1998, the New Broadway Cast album of Cabaret saved Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall’s in-the-round makeover for home listening. Slot 19 is simply titled “Finale” – a last cigarette dragged in the doorway while Berlin slips past the train windows. Producer Jay David Saks keeps the mix lean: accordion wheeze, brushed drums, a faint station announcement in German. It feels half dream, half border interrogation.

Personal Review

The first time I spun “Finale” the Lyrics hit like a cold gust. Alan Cumming, wrapped in velvet consonants, teases us with “Willkommen” while John Benjamin Hickey’s Cliff stares at his passport. The orchestra plays soft enough to hear the fear in everyone’s breath. No show-biz razzle, only a slow tightening knot.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The Lyrics ride a simple idea: escapism has an expiry date. Kander’s minor-key vamp echoes a station lullaby, while Ebb’s polyglot greeting – “Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome” – re-surfaces, now hollow. Annotation lines point out that directors often strip the Emcee’s coat to reveal prisoner triangles; the Mendes revival cemented that visual gut-punch.

Notice the rhythm: German loudspeaker (spoken) – border check (spoken) – Cliff’s memoir (half spoken) – the Emcee’s mocking reprise (sung). Every layer strips another illusion until only steel rails remain.

“Where are your troubles now? Forgotten? I told you so.”

Once a nightclub tease, the line now scolds the world for dozing while fascism gathers.

Verse Highlights

Border Announcement

A tannoy voice ticks off the departure time: four a.m., track 17. The clock is literal, the doom implied.

Cliff’s Soliloquy

He calls Berlin “beautiful” with a cracked smile. His next line – “It was the end of the world” – lands like a verdict.

Willkommen Reprise

The melody limps, minus its earlier swing. Accordion groans under a suspended cymbal, as if the train’s brakes squeal.

Emcee’s Farewell

“Auf wiedersehen…” – then silence. Some revivals now dress him in Nazi black instead of prisoner stripes, twisting hope into complicity.

Key Facts

• Featured voices: John Benjamin Hickey & Alan Cumming
• Producer: Jay David Saks
• Writers: John Kander (music), Fred Ebb (lyrics)
• Release date: June 30 1998
• Label: RCA Victor / BMG
• Genre: Broadway – Cabaret – Weimar jazz
• Mood: Foreboding, elegiac
• Length: 4 min 29 sec
• Instrumentation: Piano, accordion, muted trumpet, violin, brushed kit, tremolo strings
• Track #: 19 on Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording
• Languages: English, German, French
• Poetic meter: Mixed trochaic lines over 3/4 sway
• © 1998 BMG Entertainment

Songs on Farewell & Disillusionment

“Epilogue” – Les Misérables finds ruined rebels singing of heaven; “Finale” refuses redemption, trading halos for searchlights.

“Rose’s Turn” – Gypsy strips Mama Rose bare under a vaudeville spotlight, much like the Emcee loses his coat – but her fight remains personal, not political.

“Goodbye Until Tomorrow / I Could Never Rescue You” – The Last Five Years flips time to show lovers parting. The intimacy parallels Cliff and Sally, minus the encroaching dictatorship.

Questions and Answers

Who crafted the “Finale” Lyrics?

Lyricist Fred Ebb wrote them, with John Kander’s score beneath.

Did the 1998 album win a Grammy?

It lost, but was one of three nominees for Best Musical Theater Album at the 1999 ceremony.

How many Tony Awards did this revival collect?

Four: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor (Cumming), Best Actress (Richardson), Best Featured Actor (Rifkin).

Why does the Emcee sometimes appear as a Nazi officer in newer productions?

Directors update the metaphor: instead of victimhood, the Emcee shows how easily art can serve power.

Is the YouTube clip official?

No – fan-shot from the late-1990s broadcast archive, but the audio matches the RCA release.

Awards and Chart Positions

The album’s Grammy nomination put it alongside Ragtime and The Lion King in 1999, while the stage revival swept four Tonys in 1998.

How to Sing?

Cliff hovers A3-D5; the Emcee slides G3-Bb4 with whispered lows. Keep German syllables crisp – “Grenzkontrolle” lands on consonants. Tempo lingers near 78 BPM; conductors often stretch Cliff’s spoken lines, so mark breaths after each phrase. Finally, hold the stillness after “À bientôt” – silence is the real high note.